A Bond Too Strong
by soprano-in-waiting
Summary: After a disastrous training accident, Jiraiya wakes up to find himself alone in a hospital with a note and no apprentice. Years later, he runs into someone highly unexpected...
1. The Road

I don't own Naruto.

* * *

><p>The red haze faded from his vision as the chakra left his system, leaving behind soreness and exhaustion in its wake. The world around him blurred before he collapsed on the ground, into the accepting darkness.<p>

0o0o0o0o0o0

The sun had moved from its high point in its daily journey. The sunlight was filtering through the sides of the clearing when the young blonde came back to his senses. A groan escaped through his lips as he tried to move his body. He looked about in a quick survey of his surroundings, trying to clear the last of the cobwebs from his still fuzzy head.

Trees were leaning precariously, roots half torn from the ground. Freshly dug trenches in the earth were littered through out what had once been a very peaceful meadow. The scent of scorched grass assaulted his nose, making him cough. The fourteen year old raised himself into a sitting position.

'_What happened?' _Naruto searched through his memories, trying to remember what exactly had occurred. '_Let's see. Got up. Broke camp. Tried to toss Ero-Sennin's stupid notebook. Lunch. Jiraiya had said something about starting a new type of training…Kyuubi!'_

Panic began to race through him as he remembered what the training had involved. Jiraiya wanted to train him in using the Kyuubi's chakra. Naruto froze. _'What if the seal broke?' _

He pumped chakra into the area around his stomach, relieved to see the familiar patterns of swirls and kanji appear on his stomach. Jiraiya still hadn't taught him what the arrangement meant, but he had promised to teach him about sealing. '_Jiraiya.'_

The blonde got up in an attempt to find his teacher. If Naruto was out of it, the old man probably wasn't in much better condition. The genin did a quick scan of the area before he spotted his sensei. Dread filled him as he made his way to the slumped and still figure that was the Toad Sage. Blood was silently slipping from a huge gash in his chest. '_Oh god no… I killed him. I wasn't able to control Kyuubi, and I killed him!'_

His face contorted into a mask of grief and shame. Tears flooded his cheeks in love for the one who had been like a father to him. The still meadow seemed to grieve with him. No birds sang their chipper songs. No playful squirrels enjoyed their games. All was quiet.

Naruto started gathering his sensei in his arms when he heard a small groan. His heart did a back flip. He did a double take and noticed the small, irregular pulse in Jiraiya's throat. '_He's still alive!_' The teen hurriedly retrieved some healing seals from his packs and placed them over the wound. A slight green glow was being emitted from them. The slow flow of life blood trickled to a stop, and the pulse began to beat more regular, even though it was still weak.

Naruto watched as the seal began to stabilize his sensei. _'That seal won't heal everything, and I don't know what else happened when I lost control.' _He remembered a town not too far from here. He could take Jiraiya there and hopefully get him some better medical attention than what he could. Checking to see that the seal was still secure, Naruto hoisted the injured man onto his back, and ran as fast as he could through the forest.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Naruto watched as the village doctor examined his sensei. '_It's my fault. If I hadn't lost control, he wouldn't be in this condition. He wouldn't have come close to dying if he hadn't been near me. I really am a monster. I wasn't strong enough to control the demon, and he took over_.' Naruto was yanked out of his guilt-filled inner lecture by the approach of the doctor.

"While he's still in pretty tough shape, your sensei should wake up in a few days. The wound in his chest was pretty deep. It came close to his heart and lungs, but thankfully it just barely missed them. I can't use medical jutsus so I can't heal it completely, but it should heal up just fine. I recommend that he rests for the next few weeks. No strenuous activity or lengthy travel for at least two months."

The doctor packed up his supplies and left the little room, leaving Naruto with the sleeping sannin. '_I did this to him. I'm a danger. I can't stay here. I have to learn to control this on my own, without involving anyone precious to me. I won't take the chance that this could happen again._'

Naruto rifled through his packs, finding a scrap of paper. He dipped his brush in the uncapped ink and started to write. After a few moments he picked up the short note, blowing on it to speed the drying process. He repacked everything, rolled up the note, sealing it so only Jiraiya could open with when he awoke. The blonde was happy that Ero-sennin had at least taught him that. He hadn't gotten a proper introduction to seals, but this one was a handy little tool. Unless someone completely overloaded the seal with chakra, which would burn the sealed paper to a crisp, the contents would remain secure. One of the handy little things he had learned over the months of travel with the sealing master.

Naruto left the note by the side of Jiraiya's bed. Tears once again began to trace his whiskered cheeks as he took one last glance at one of his precious people.

"Goodbye, Sensei." He whispered, before he left soundlessly, not knowing where he was going, except that it was somewhere he wouldn't hurt anyone who he cared about.

0o0o0o0o0

Jiraiya woke to see the sunlight making its way across the nondescript ceiling. An oddly shaped water stain caught his attention, before he heard soft footsteps echoing down the hall.

"I see you're finally awake." An older man cheerfully greeted him as came in with a tray of soup and medicine.

"Finally?" Jiraiya groaned, realizing how much it hurt to move as he tried to shift into a sitting position. He was stopped by the firm hand of what he assumed was a doctor, by his garb, and general sense of competency.

"You've been out for almost three days, son. I was beginning to think you weren't going to wake up. You did get quite the nasty set of wounds there." The doctor pointed with his chin, indicating the swathes of bandages around his patient's chest.

"Where am I?" Jiraiya asked, more to himself than his present company.

"The village hospital. Your student carried you in here a few days ago, begging for help. He didn't say what happened, just that you needed attention and fast." He explained as he rebandaged his chest. Jiraiya winced as the blood soaked bandages were removed from the open wound. He vaguely remembered how he got that particular wound, but he clearly recalled how he had ended up in that fight. He had pushed Naruto too far with the Kyuubi's chakra training. Naruto had lost control when he had reached the fourth tail. Jiraiya rightfully concluded that he was lucky to be alive.

"I will say this though, if he hadn't been able to stop the blood flow with that seal, you would have been dead for sure. I'd thank him when you meet up with him again." A smile crossed the wrinkled face of the doctor, meant to be reassuring. The old man got up from his task, and headed out of the room. The words he had spoken worried the toad sannin.

"Meet up again? Isn't he here?" Jiraiya muttered to himself, confused. Leaving a friend behind in strange territory, especially when hurt, did not sound like the Naruto Jiraiya knew. He took in the lay of his room, and finally spotted the note on his bedside table. He gently pushed out some of his own chakra to break the seal. As he read, his eyes got bigger, and his breath hitched. He quickly got up, and tried to leave his bed, but the blood loss and wound was too much. The older shinobi noticed the darkness encroaching on his pain filled consciousness as he very ungracefully fell to the floor, note in hand. His last clear thought wasn't very comforting to his retreating mind. '_Tsunade's going to kill me.' _

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The Toad Sannin was once again on the dusty road, traveling through the countryside between villages. His information network had people all over the major countries, collecting rumors and data that could hopefully help him in his objectives. He had just come back from meeting with informants in Iwa. While they still didn't particularly care for Hi no Kuni, at least there weren't any rumors of outright war at the moment, a small favor that Jiraiya was thankful to the gods for. His primary purpose was to be the ears on the ground for his village, but that didn't keep him from his personal search.

The sage absentmindedly raised his hand to his chest, resting on the disfiguring scar he knew resided under his tunic. His thoughts began to wander a familiar path, tracing their way down the memories of his wayward student. Jiraiya had tried for eight years to find him. The gaki had vanished without a trace. '_I suppose I must have taught him something about evasion after all' _Jiraiya thought with a wry grin.

He turned his face to the sun, taking in the warm light as it filtered through the treetops. The sannin traveled at a relaxed pace, not really watching where he was going as he journeyed on the well beaten and oft traveled road through the forest. Travelers in the area had had their worries about bandits more or less abolished by the fact that the most notorious of them had been rounded up by an unknown vigilante.

Jiraiya suspected it was a shinobi but had been unable to gather enough of a description to identify him, although if it really were a rogue shinobi, that would hardly have mattered. Part of him hoped without reason that it was his errant charge, but there had been other times where a similar situation had occurred, and his hopes had been dashed. It had happened too many times over the years for him to blindly charge in. A sigh escaped his lips as he pondered the puzzle that Uzumaki Naruto had left him with. A familiar thought crossed his mind, '_What if he really doesn't want to be found?'_

Jiraiya felt guilty about the circumstances that had led to his departure. '_I shouldn't have tried to push him so hard. I knew the Kyuubi's chakra was hard to control, and I still insisted he work with it. I just wish he would have stayed to let me explain…' _

*oomph*

The sannin was abruptly pulled from his morose line of thought by his sudden impact with a young girl. He looked down to see a little girl with her blonde hair in pigtail braids sitting splayed out on the ground near his feet. She rubbed her hands around her head as if feeling for bumps when her face turned up to see what she had run into. Her emerald eyes widened in surprise as she saw the giant of a man standing in front of her.

"Ero-sennin! Is it really you? You've got to come quick. Otou-san's hurt real bad!"

Jiraiya's jaw dropped in shock. Whatever the toad sage had expected to hear, that was not it.

* * *

><p>AN: Test run. It's another fic I've got some chapters written for. Chapters would probably be between 1-2k, just to keep my sanity. Updates would be highly sporadic, just telling you ahead, if you're interested.

Should I continue it?

Adios

Soprano-in-Waiting


	2. The Toad

I don't own Naruto. Yet. .

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><p>An unfamiliar confusion bloomed on the Toad Sennin's face.<p>

"Hold your horses little lady. First of f, who are you?" He asked, scrutinizing the little blonde sitting in the dirt.

"No time! We have to go back. He's hurt real bad, and- and- and I don't think he's gonna come back. Daddy always says that he'll come back for me no matter what. But there's so much blood ,and he won't wake up." The little girl rambled. Tears began to carve muddy grooves into her dirt encrusted face.

Jiraiya began to panic. Comforting curvaceous young ladies is one thing, but children? He was in very uncomfortable waters. He awkwardly crouched down and began patting her on the back. Next thing he knew he was being used as a combination pillow and giant tissue.

"Let's get going then. We can't waste anytime if he's that hurt. I need you to tell me where he is. Can you show me?" He asked, gently lifting her face to look her in the eyes. She wiped her eyes with her fist and slowly nodded.

"We're staying in a cave a few miles away from town. I think it's that way." The little girl pointed.

Jiraiya glanced where she pointed.

"I need you to trust me, kid. Hang on tight, and we can get there a lot quicker than on the road." He explained, picking the little girl up, and slinging her across his back.

"Daddy lets me ride him when he flies through the trees." She told him, before burying her face in his back.

Jiraiya quirked an eyebrow, '_Flying through the trees? So he has some shinobi training.' _

A few quick jumps found them up into the treetops, moving swiftly through the branches. The sennin stretched his senses. On the very edge of his range, a slight flicker of chakra caught his senses. He corrected his course. The duo found themselves on the edge of a clearing.

"Daddy!" The little girl cried, as she scrambled off his back. Blonde pigtails flew as she raced across the grass into the trees on the far end. Following her, the sage was astounded to find a small opening in a rock wall, hidden by the dense thicket.

"Come on Daddy, wake up. I brought Ero-sennin." The girl babbled. She was shaking the prone figure that he supposed was her daddy. A groan issued from the seemingly lifeless bundle.

"Kid, come here. You stand outside, while I go in and bring him out." Jiraiya directed. He waited for the girl to pass him then knelt down by the figure. Carefully gathering him in his arms, the white-haired man maneuvered his way back out into the sunshine. As the figure's head rolled back, he nearly dropped him. Matted, faintly blond hair surrounded a face with six straight scars that only one person had.

Jiraiya had finally found his student. The man was right; Tsunade _was_ going to kill him for bringing Naruto back like this.

0o0o0o0

"Hey, kid, I need you to grab everything you have out of the cave. I need to take your dad back to Konoha. Tsunade-hime can help him there. You got three minutes, understood?"

The kid nodded quickly before running back to the cave. Seconds later, faint rustlings could be heard coming out of the cave. While waiting for her, Jiraiya took his canteen and wet a cloth from his pack, wiping away some of the dirt and blood from the boy, no, man's face. A faint sound escaped his lips.

"Kai…" Naruto whispered.

"Kai?" Jiraiya was puzzled. Was he hit with a genjutsu?

A loud clatter broke him out of his wonderings as the girl dropped a pile of stuff on the ground.

"Got everything. Can we go now?" She begged, eyes on her dad. Grabbing a scroll, the sage swiftly stored everything. A few hand seals and a puff of smoke later revealed a large toad.

"We need to get to Konoha, fast. He's not gonna hold on for much longer." The toad nodded and then carefully picked up Naruto, and swallowed him. The girl's eyes went wide. She froze to the spot. Jiraiya picked her up and without waiting followed the injured blonde. Another puff of smoke and the clearing was once again empty.

0o0o0o0

Tsunade leaned back in her chair, watching the goings on outside her window. The village noise carried up to her in the tower. Life continued on. People lived .People died. Children still chased each other up the streets.

She sighed. The village may seem full of life, but it was still missing Naruto. Nothing could replace him.

A noise in front of her desk startled her out of her thoughts. She turned around to find her self face to face with a large toad.

"Jiraiya…I swear if you're trying to sneak in paperwork about co-ed public baths, you're not going to live…to…"She lashed out, only to lose her words as said man emerged with a small, wide-eyed child and an injured man.

"Tsunade, it's Naruto. Please." He begged, his face more serious than she could remember in recent years.

"Naruto…" She breathed, eyes darting to indeed find the familiar whiskered face.

Quick as a flash, she knelt down at his side and began to examine him. A green glow surrounded her hands, giving her feedback on what was going on inside. Not even a minute later, she hauled the young man into her arms, and ran out the door, yelling for the shinobi in the tower to clear a way. Jiraiya collapsed into one of the waiting couches, the young blonde still in his arms.

"Well, kid, I guess it's just you and me for now." He mused, eyeing the silent blonde whose eyes were still plastered on the toad. He dismissed the toad who had been patiently waiting. The pigtailed blonde's gaze turned to the sage before her eyes rolled back in their sockets and she passed out. Jiraiya tightened his hold on her before she could slide to the floor.

"Too much excitement for you, little one." He chuckled. Carefully, he laid her out on the couch beside him, and settled in for a long wait.

* * *

><p>AN: I feel a little strange. After having just uploaded a monster of a chapter for K-ANBU, I upload one for this that's barely even 1k. The sad thing is, that this was originally two chapters. You can probably tell . How much flak would I have gotten for that? lol.

This is the entirety of what I have written for this one so far. Just to warn you.

p.s. dont' you just love kids :P

Let me know what you liked/didn't like/ what needs improvement?

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Soprano~in~Waiting


	3. The Pair

Don't own Naruto. 'Nuf said.

0o0o0o0

Jiraiya woke with the creak of the door. Judging from the overall stiffness he felt, and the absolute darkness outside the window, he judged that it was early morning. He looked over to find his blonde hokage tiredly landed in the padded leather chair behind her desk. Tsunade sighed and stretched out her tired muscles. Sandaled feet were soon propped on the desk.

"How is he?" The white-haired man quietly asked, mindful of the kid next to him.

She didn't respond. Jiraiya wondered if she had even heard him. Tsunade rolled her head to meet his eyes. The exhaustion he saw there alarmed him. He hadn't seen her in such a state since the last war.

"He's stable, at least for the moment." She finally informed him.

"For the moment?" Jiraiya repeated, not sure if he liked that phrasing.

"Yes, for the moment. Whoever it was that did that to him shot him up with some sort of poison. We had a hell of a time just keeping it from progressing."

"If it's a poison, can't you just give him an antidote or something?"

"We only have antidotes on hand for the more common toxins that are used. I've never seen anything like this, and I used to play tag with that old bat from Suna." She whispered, worry creeping into her voice.

"What about Kyuubi?" Jiraiya poised. "The bijuu has healed him before, so why isn't it doing anything now?"

"That's what has me worried." Honey eyes were lidded over as she chewed her bottom lip. "As far as I can tell, the fox has been working its nine tails off just to _slow_ the poison running through Naruto's system."

The news brought Jiraiya to full alertness as ice flooded his veins.

"Just…just to _slow_ it? You mean… even the Kyuubi can't _stop_ it?" He stumbled. Jiraiya searched Tsunade's eyes, looking for anything that would just tell him she was trying to pull one over on him.

She nodded slowly.

"We isolated what we could, but it's attacking his chakra, feeding of f it, using it to grow. It's bad enough with a normal person's reserves. Factor in his huge reserves, along with the fact that he was gravely injured to begin with, it's a miracle he was even alive when you found him. " She gave a mirthless laugh, her gaze staring out the window as a silent tear tracked down her cheek.

She tensed when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see her teammate standing beside her chair.

"Don't write him off yet. If he held on long enough that I could bring him here, he can hold on until you find a cure. And you _will_ find one." He asserted, silencing her before she could even argue with him. "You're the best medic-nin in the elemental nations. If anyone can do it, you can. Besides, didn't you promise that if he had gotten himself killed by going off on his own, you'd resurrect him, just to kill him yourself? I'd say this definitely qualifies." Jiraiya gave her that lopsided, silly grin, daring her to not laugh.

A small smile crossed her lips as she shook her head at the sage.

"You always did know how to lighten a mood." She said before a giant yawn overtook her.

"Go to bed, Hime. He's not going to disappear, and you've gotten him stabilized. You're not going to do anyone any good by not taking care of yourself."

"When did you get wise?" She teased.

"I'm the great Toad Sage! Of course I've got some pearls of wisdom." He retorted, puffing out his chest.

"Must have found those while in the mud with the hogs." She muttered under her breath.

Jiraiya sputtered in indignance, before Tsunade cut him off.

"What are we going to do about the kid?" She asked, jerking her chin to the child resting on the couch.

"Huh? Oh." Jiraiya turned to see where she was looking. "I didn't see any cuts or scrapes on her. The only blood on her is probably Naruto's. I'm not an expert, but I think she just needs some rest for now." He reported.

"Small blessings. I still want her checked out in the morning. " The busty blonde replied. "Is she…his?" She asked, giving him a sidelong glance, not taking her eyes off the kid for the moment. Jiraiya thought about it.

"She's gotta be what, five? Six? He's been gone almost eight years, it's possible. Even with all the dirt, I've only ever seen that particular shade of blonde on two people, one of which is dead, and the other laying in a hospital bed. If she isn't his kid, she's related somehow. I'd stake my career on it. " The certainty in his voice was almost enough to thoroughly convince the hokage. The topaz eyes narrowed as a niggling suspicion crossed her mind.

"How old would Naruto be?" She asked.

"Twenty-one, Twenty-two in October, why?" He answered, slightly puzzled as to her change in topic.

A dark, dangerous look grew on Tsunade's face as she rose to her feet. Jiraiya could feel a hint of killing intent directed solely at him, causing him to carefully step back as she advanced on him.

Unfortunately, he couldn't duck fast enough as he took the full brunt of her punch right to his head.

"Do the math, you utterly perverted moron! If she's his, he couldn't have been more than sixteen when she was born." She heatedly whispered as he tried to blink away the flying stars and shuriken circling his head.

"And how is that my fault?" he pouted, tenderly rubbing his jaw.

"Oh, I wonder, Mr. Super-Pervert." Sarcasm dripped from her words.

"What was I supposed to do about it? I wasn't even around when it happened."

"That's right, you weren't." She coldly responded.

The two sat in a tense silence until a sigh from the larger nin broke it.

"Look. I'm sorry about what happened. You know as well as I that if I could go back and change it, I would, but what's done is done. We can only hope things turn out better." Jiraiya pointed out. "I have a scroll with all the things the kid brought from the cave sealed into it. I'll go over it in the morning, see if I can figure out anything that's been happening the last couple years. You still need rest, so scoot. I'll take the kid to one of the rooms in the Hokage mansion. She can sleep there. I'll be right next door." He proposed.

"Since when did you become hokage?" Tsunade argued. Jiraiya didn't budge. "Fine. Just make sure that someone keeps an eye on her. I don't want my house wrecked when I wake up." She grumbled as Jiraiya pushed her out the door. Jiraiya laughed.

"Good Night, Hime." He teasingly said, getting an undecipherable mumble that he wasn't sure he wanted to translate in response.

He turned to the kid, and carefully gathered her in his arms. Every time he looked at her, he was more and more certain that his student now had a kid. Minato had a grandkid. The thought made him wilt. Jiraiya sighed.

"Man, do I feel old…" He muttered, before searching out a room in the tower.

* * *

><p>AN: So I realized that I should probably update this one, since where my thoughts are headed on this one, it's not gonna be nearly as long as K-ANBU. It'll actually be interesting to see what little things pop up, as I usually have a rough outline and just start writing from that.

For those few following this, let me know what you think :)

Questions, comments, random jokes are appreciated, lol

Have a great weekend and a Blessed Easter!

Soprano-in-waiting

p.s. shameless self-promoting: I have a plot bunny farm, if you're interested in adopting any ideas. Link is in my profile. I don't _think_ I've seen any fics with quite these starts, but maybe I missed them. I think they'd be interesting, but I don't think I'd do them justice. So have at 'em!


	4. The Scare

I don't own Naruto. I do have Itachi to huggle ^_~

0o0o0o0

Early morning sunlight streamed in through the open window. The warm beams shed light across a rather haphazard assortment of items. In the middle of it sat a white-haired man. Jiraiya sighed as he sorted through another set of scrolls that his student had had in his possession when he had been found. He had tossed around in his bed for an hour or so after putting the girl to bed in the room next to his, but he had never drifted into more than a light sleep. Finally, he had given up, and looked for some clue as to what could be wrong with Naruto in his things. Perhaps there was an odd weapon that he had brought back from the fight, or a scrap of clothing torn off. Heck, maybe he had gotten lucky and the kid had been hunting and studying the guy who did this to him.

There had been the usual assortment of camp supplies. Pots and pans, a tent, a random assortment of blankets and clothing. From the look of it, Naruto had been around in quite a variety of places, judging from the cut of the shirts and the designs on some of the blankets. They varied from the very lightweight materials found in Suna and Kaze no Kuni, to the heavy wool common in the far northern climes. The rest of it was pretty utilitarian fare, which didn't change much in design, no matter how far one traveled.

On a separate pile, the toad sage had sorted out those possessions which were clearly the little girl's. He held up a smaller square of well-worn fabric. From the bright flowers printed on it, along with the softness, the man made the assumption that it was probably the child's blanket. He tossed it on top of the pile that already contained a few spare items of clothing, a couple books, and a handful of toys. He grinned as he noticed the well-worn stuffed toy frog. Apparently, his student hadn't completely forgotten about him, or his summons.

'_Which reminds me…I need to get in touch with Ma and Pa.'_ Jiraiya mentally noted. Had the toads been aiding Naruto, or were they as in the dark as he was? The last time he had talked to them, the elder toads hadn't had any information on his boy's whereabouts. He shook his head, clearing that thought for a later time, and continued his investigation.

The pile of scrolls was next. A quick peek into a number of them showed a stash of sealed weapons and training gear. He had to give the blond brat at least some credit for not leaving that stuff where a child could come across it. Mixed in with the supplies was a tattered bingo book. There was no specific affiliation listed, so it was probably a copy developed by a bounty office. Jiraiya flipped through it, and found hand-written notes penciled in along the margins, along with a number of the names crossed out. Bookmarking those pages were receipts for bounties collected. Naruto had been working as a bounty hunter, it seems.

The next scroll gave him some pause. With a few hand signs, the contents were revealed. Sealed inside was an album of sorts. The leather binding was smudged with dirt in several places, and cracking along the spine, but he could still identify it as the one the kid had brought with him when they first left Konoha, all those years ago. He found several pictures which were familiar. The very first picture was of Team 7. Of course. The nin flipped past it. He chuckled at the picture of a younger Naruto wearing his sensei's hat, grinning like a fool. Jiraiya wondered vaguely who had taken the picture. There were a couple pages of random shots of his team and of the other kids in his age group. The last picture he recognized was one he had had taken a few weeks before the accident. He and Naruto were standing underneath a shade tree and posing for the camera. One of his large hands ruffled the blond's hair, causing him to give the typical Naruto pout in the picture next to it.

He stilled when he reached a photo he didn't recognize. There, in middle of the page, was a photo of a slightly older Naruto. He still had the roundness of his developing years, but the sharp features began to show through. The lankiness had also started to into a lithe, strong frame. A fond smile graced his lips as he recalled the uncanny resemblance to his previous student at that age. If it wasn't for the shape of the eyes and the whiskers, they could have been twins. It was the other figure in the picture that surprised him. There in his arms was a very pretty teenage girl. Dark, raven hair tangled around her as she was laughing at something the blond had done. Her pale skin and emerald eyes sparkled with a deep emotion that he could only call love. The next couple pictures contained some combination of the two in different settings. In a few, a very noticeable baby bump was seen on the raven teen. Finally, there was a picture of the entire family. Jiraiya's heart ached at the sight. So many things that he missed in his godson's life. So many memories that he wished he could have been a part of. He slowly paged through the rest of the book, as if trying to absorb what he could of Naruto's life through the dry leaves of paper. The little baby grew into what he could clearly see as the child he had found.

Jiraiya was vaguely puzzled when the dark-haired beauty abruptly disappeared from the pages. The next picture was obviously taken a number of months later, showing an older Naruto and much bigger child. "What happened?" Jiraiya whispered, staring at the pictures.

The toad sage was shaken from his thoughts with the sudden screaming of a child. He darted from his seat, nimbly avoiding stepping on any of the scattered items. He charged into the neighboring room to find the little blonde sobbing, tears streaming down her face. The white-haired man hesitated. In theory, he knew what should be done, but it had been years since he had taken care of a young kid. He scooped the girl up into his arms, trying to calm her. Large hands moved in soothing circles, but he wasn't having any huge success.

"What's wrong?" A groggy brunette asked from the doorway.

"I don't know. She just woke up screaming." Jiraiya blurted out, a little overwhelmed at the moment.

"This is the girl you brought back, right?" she asked, taking a few steps forward. Jiraiya nodded.

"She's probably just scared. Did you grab any of her stuff? Most children have comfort objects. Did you find a toy or blanket? If we can give her something she knows, she might calm down." The woman explained.

"Hang on a sec. Could you hold her for a bit, Shizune?" The sennin pleaded. The med-nin carefully slid the girl from his arms, and tried calming her down. He slipped from the room, and grabbed the blanket and the frog that he had just found. He offered the frog to the girl. The moment those bright green eyes landed on the frog, it was snatched up and hugged so tight, Jiraiya feared for the stuffing. Shizune sat on the edge of the bed, and wrapped the blanket tight around her. Whether it was the feel of the fabric, or the smell, the girl started calming down from her scare.

"There, better?" Shizune asked, as she wiped the remnants of her tears away.

The little head nodded, resting against the warm body holding her. She glanced around; spotting the familiar man crouched next to her.

"Ero-sennin?" She whispered. Shizune giggled at the nickname coming from such a small child's lips. Jiraiya sighed. "Damn brat," he mumbled under his breath.

"Your dad always called me that, but my name's really Jiraiya. I was your dad's teacher when he was younger." He finally replied. "This nice person is Shizune."

"Hello." Was the quiet response.

"What's your name?" Jiraiya gently questioned. The kid needed a better name than "the kid".

Silence. The sage pondered whether the brash child he had run into had been scared into semi-muteness with everything that had happened. He was about to give up when he got an answer.

"Kaiya."

"Kaiya. That's a pretty name." Shizune smiled, getting a small one in response from the little girl sitting in her lap. Seconds later a tiny growl sounded from the little girl.

"Are you hungry, Kaiya?" Shizune asked. "How about some breakfast?"

Kaiya nodded shyly.

"We'll be in the kitchen if you need us," Shizune informed him, before taking the young girl to get some food.

With the crisis over, Jiraiya returned to his own quarters, and the scrolls he had been searching. Several minutes later, he came across a scroll with several dark smudges on the outside of it. The seal master unraveled the roll of paper to find a large storage seal. Jiraiya pushed the piles of belongings to the sides of the room, and laid the paper out flat. Hand seals and a small puff of smoke later, lying on the floor of his room was the puppet body of Sasori of the Red Sands, legendary rogue puppeteer of Suna, and notorious poison user.

0o0o0o0o0

A/N: Yay updates, lol. I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of feedback I got on the latest chapter. While the audience isn't as large as other stories, I'm glad that those few let me know how I'm doing. ^^

I hope this answers some questions, but hopefully not all. What would be the point if I just dumped it all? That wouldn't be any fun. :P

Drop me a note with your thoughts!

Have a great week!

Soprano-in-Waiting


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